For years, I had a strong preference for imported cars. Even so, every few years I would give an American manufacturer another chance. In 1973, I bought my wife a Plymouth Scamp, which was the P version of the Dodge Duster.
After a year or two, strange things started to occur with the electrical system. I experienced short battery life and the light bulb burned out early. I also experienced the intermittent operation of various subsystems.
After several trips to the dealer with no clear resolution, I discovered that the charging system was the source of the problem. It had an alternator with a separate voltage regulator mounted on the firewall. The firewall was painted, as was the voltage regulator box, and there was no ground wire in the harness. In order to work, it required the ground connection to be provided by metallic contact between the voltage regulator box and the firewall mounting bolt -- only one bolt, by the way.
Engine compartment of 1973 Plymouth Scamp, with alternator clearly visible at left front and the separate voltage regulator bolted to the side of the engine compartment.
In an apparent cost-reduction move, they didn't use a star washer or any other type of lock washer under the bolt head. Thus, after time and miles accumulated, the voltage regulator lost its ground connection -- intermittently, of course. So it started to overcharge the battery. I installed a star washer (OEM cost: 1/10 of a cent) under the head of the bolt, and I had no more issues with that problem.
I talked about this with a couple of co-workers who had also owned Chrysler products over the years (all EEs, of course). They told me that Chryslers always had these kinds of issues. They said it was well-known to Chrysler for years, but nobody would fix it. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only electrical issue. About two years later, we were driving down I-95 in South Florida (I worked for Motorola in Plantation then) when the car suffered a short in the wiring inside the steering column and caught fire!
This entry was submitted by Ratsky and edited by Rob Spiegel
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I think averagejoe72677 may misunderstand the function of the "ballast" resistor in conventional ignition systems. First, it was used by virtually all auto makers since the sixties and was used to make starting easier. When cranking, battery terminal voltage for a "12-volt" battery can drop to 6 or 7 volts ... the load during cranking can be several hundred amps! The ignition switch bypassed the resistor during cranking so that a good spark could be produced by a nominal "6-volt coil". Once the engine was running, the resistor (typically about 1 ohm or so) was back in circuit - to avoid overheating the coil and burning the "points".
No argument about the stupidity of assuming mechanical fasteners automatically have good electrical conductivity. I've seen hundreds of Chevy tail-lights that didn't work because they used the clip that mounted the socket for ground contact. Some old headlights made the same mistake. More electrical engineers (make that good electrical engineers) need to inspect and approve car designs!
I want to assure everyone that the picture was NOT my Scamp! It did have the 5-liter V8, but no mods of any kind (besides the addition of that star washer...).
I had a 1972 Dodge Dart I bought new. The electrical system in general was designed by monkeys. I was warned early on to keep a spare ignition resistor in the glove box as these fail without notice and leave you stranded. It seems Chrysler chose to run the ignition system (points) on 6 volts and the rest of the car on 12 volts. Why on earth they did that is beyond me as all other makes used 12 volt systems.
I had a Chrysler Horizon the first year that they were made and after having front wheel bearings replaced six or sever times (every 1500 miles), they finally sent a top guy out to check the car. What they found was that the ground strap from the starter to the frame ground was missing and every time the car was started all the current went through the wheel bearings and cooked them.
The fact these cars are easy to work on shows in the photo as the owner of this Scamp must be having a lot of fun with it. The engine compartment shows a lot of modifications from stock. Aftermarket valve covers and spark plug wires, Carter Competition Series 4 barrel carb on an aftermarket aluminum intake which necessitated the mounting of the coil on the firewall, the windshield wiper motor has been removed. A fuel pressure regulator is mounted on the inner fender panel which most likely means the car has an electric fuel pump feeding it. The heater has been bypassed or removed because the hose which typically feeds it has been rerouted to the intake manifold. This car isn't your typical "grocery getter" anymore!
I had a 1973 Duster, w the famous slant 6, which was a hand-me-down from my father. The problem I had, when the car was about 15 years old, is that the column shifter wouldn't stay locked into Drive. Being disinclined to disassemble the whole steering column, I never figured out what the minor part was, that was holding the thing into the detent.
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